Robots may be utilized for a variety of purposes and activities. In a manufacturing and fabrication environment, some robots are utilized to pick up and carry plies of material to a mandrel for shaping. These robots may include an end effector that picks up a ply and applies force to the ply in order to conform the ply with the mandrel.
For example, in an environment where Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) is being fabricated, a robot may use an end effector to pick up the ply and form the ply onto a mandrel defining a complex surface for the ply. This operation may be performed multiple times for multiple plies in order to build up a composite pre-form of dry carbon fiber. The composite pre-form may then be impregnated with curable resin, and cured in order to form CFRP. During the layup process in which plies are placed onto the mandrel, it remains desirable to prevent the formation of wrinkles within any ply, as wrinkles are not desirable in any fabricated CFRP. Furthermore, as plies of dry carbon fiber are delicate, it also remains important to ensure that the end effector does not apply forces that would warp or damage the ply during transport and shaping. Hence, fabricators of CFRP continue to seek out end effector technologies that are both capable and cost-effective.